"Roan" is a coat pattern and it represents a mixture of white hairs mingled with coloured hairs i.e. having the base colour (such as red, black or brown) muted & lightened by a mixture of white hairs.

For example, a blue roan cocker is a cocker that has black hairs interspersed with white hairs. The same applies to orange roans, red hairs mixed with white hairs and chocolate roan, brown hairs mixed with white hairs.

There are various shades of roan ranging from light (almost a "black & white" dog or "liver & white", "orange & white" etc.) through to medium, silver/steel and dark roan. The depth of colour depends on how many coloured hairs are present.

All parti-coloured blue "roan" puppies are born black and white (like Friesian cows), over a period of weeks as the coat grows the individual white & coloured hairs mix to form the roan pattern. At birth, roan puppies have coloured pads, often fully pigmented, other times there is a 'halo' of colour around the outside of each pad. As the pup matures, the 'halo' of pigment creeps inwards & fills the pad. True black & white pups have pink pads with the odd speckle of pigment dotted about, they also have pink muzzles.  These gradually fill with some colour (most notability the nose which usually becomes fully pigmented over time)..

Liver roan pups are born chocolate & white and orange roan pups are often born with very little colouring (often a silvery white coat).  As a puppy matures, the pattern starts to come through. To see the coat colour development of orange roans click here!

Here are a series of photos that show the changes! The photos follow the progress of the puppy with the five black spots down her back (she's called "Buttons") Buttons is blue roan.

3 Days Old - Clearly a white puppy coat with black spots.	5 Days Old - Still "black & white" there is now a grey appearance to the puppies undersides.	10 Days Old - There is now a distinct grey "tinge" to white areas of the coat.
16 Days Old - The roan is getting stronger.	24 Days Old - The coats are longer & the grey roan pattern is now very obvious.	35 Days Old - Coats longer & now quite grey, the roan can't be mistaken.
6 Weeks Old - The coats are quite long/fluffy & the puppies look very dappled.	8 Weeks Old - Buttons is now very grey/silver as the roan has developed.	15 Weeks Old - Buttons is now very dark and silvery.
7 Months Old - Lots of roan now & very silver.	2 Years Old	3 Years Old
	4 Years Old